Key events
Israeli officials criticise Harris’ call for end to Gaza war
Israeli officials criticised US vice-president Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic party nominee for the presidency, after she said it was time for the war in Gaza to end given the suffering being caused by the fighting.
Harris’ remarks at a press conference following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflect the growing pressure on Netanyahu from different sides of the political spectrum to reach a deal with Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza, Reuters reported.
“There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal, and as I just told prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” she said.
Netanyahu called for more US military aid for Israel on Wednesday, saying that was the best way to restore peace to Gaza and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.
An unnamed Israeli official said it was to be hoped that Harris’ comments would not be interpreted by Hamas as indicating a gap between the United States and Israel “and thus push a deal into the distance.”
Daniel Hurst
The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have declared that a ceasefire in Gaza is “needed desperately” and urged Israel to “listen to the concerns of the international community”.
In a strongly worded joint statement issued on Friday, the three leaders said they were “gravely concerned about the prospect of further escalation across the region”, including between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, joined with Justin Trudeau of Canada and Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to warn that further hostilities would “put tens of thousands of civilians in Lebanon and Israel at risk”.
They said an escalation of conflict across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon would have “disastrous consequences” for both countries, and that “only makes a ceasefire in Gaza more urgent”.
Friday’s statement urged “all involved actors to exercise restraint and de-escalate”.
Andrew Roth
Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pressed Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza in talks that she described as frank, adding “I will not be silent.”
In comments that were closely watched for signs of a shift from Joe Biden’s policy approach, the US vice-president said after the meeting: “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”
She acknowledged that “Israel has a right to defend itself” and denounced Hamas as a brutal terrorist organisation that triggered the war and had committed ‘“horrific acts of sexual violence” but she made clear that how Israel defended itself mattered, adding later: “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies [in Gaza]. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”
She called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and for Netanyahu and Hamas to agree a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end a war she said had led to the deaths of far too many innocent civilians. “As I just told prime minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” she said.
Leaders of Australia, New Zealand and Canada call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
The leaders of Australia, New Zealand and Canada called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in a joint statement on Friday, Reuters reported.
“An immediate ceasefire is needed desperately,” the statement said.
“Civilians must be protected, and a sustained increase in the flow of assistance throughout Gaza is needed to address the humanitarian situation.”
US vice-president Kamala Harris pressured Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than president Joe Biden.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Israel-Gaza war live blog.
We start with news that a Hamas leader in the West Bank has died in Israeli custody after a deterioration in his health condition, a Palestinian governmental body has said.
Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara, 63, died after being transferred to a hospital from the Ramon jail in southern Israel, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs said in a statement.
“Before his arrest, he was suffering from serious health problems and needed intensive medical follow-up. However, from the moment of his arrest, Sheikh Abu Ara, like all prisoners, has faced unprecedented crimes … since the beginning of the war of extermination.”
Abu Ara, who was arrested in October last year, was subjected to torture and deprived of medical treatment, the Palestinian body said. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
In a statement, Hamas said it mourned his passing and held the occupation responsible for his “assassination through deliberate medical neglect”.
Former prisoners and rights groups have accused Israel of the widespread abuse of Palestinian prisoners including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault since the start of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October.
At least 18 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since then, the Palestinian Prisoners Association said last month.
In other developments:
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Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pressed Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza in talks that she described as frank, adding “I will not be silent.” In comments that were closely watched for signs of a shift from Joe Biden’s policy approach, the US vice-president said after her meeting with Biden: “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”
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US President Joe Biden also held talks with Netanyahu, who told him: “From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel.” In a statement, the White House said Biden had pressed Netanyahu on closing “remaining gaps” on a ceasefire deal, as well as finding a “durable end to the war in Gaza”.
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After the meetings, a senior Israeli official suggested that Harris’ comments could make a ceasefire deal less likely, according to Israeli media. “It’s to be hoped that the vice president’s comments at the press conference aren’t interpreted by Hamas as meaning that there’s daylight between the United States and Israel, which would make a deal less likely,” the senior diplomatic figure said according to Haaretz newspaper.
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Netanyahu was set to meet Donald Trump at Mar-al-Lago for the first time in nearly four years on Friday. He is expected to try to mend ties with the Republican presidential nominee, who broke ties with him in 2021 after the Israeli prime minister became one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden for his presidential election victory.
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US state and local officials have invested $1.7bn of public money in Israel Bonds – an organization that sells Israeli bonds to fund that nation’s government and buttress its military – since 7 October. An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has revealed contacts between buyer and seller that experts say may cross a line.
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At least 39,175 Palestinians have been killed and 90,403 have been wounded in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
